One of the four Vancouver Island residents charged with human trafficking-related offences in Saskatchewan last month has made it back home to the Victoria area.

Shermineh Sheri Ziaee, 36, was released on $1,000 bail after appearing in court Feb. 5 on several charges, including transporting a person under 18 for the purpose of exploiting them, procuring a person to offer or provide sexual services, and knowingly advertising an offer to provide sexual services.

She and her 19-year-old sons, Seyed Kourosh Miralinaghi and Seyed Kamran Miralinaghi, along with a man named Shawn Alexander Kelly, 23, were pulled over for travelling 150 km/h on Highway 1 in Swift Current, Sask., on Jan. 28. The four were arrested on suspicion of human trafficking after two young girls, neither of whom had identification, were found sitting in the back seats of separate vehicles that had tinted windows.

Outside her home on a busy street in the West Shore last Friday morning, Ziaee expressed her innocence and that of her sons in a brief interview with Black Press Media.

She said she’s received death threats since being charged, has had to quit her three jobs, and now has to sell her car.

A Facebook user with Ziaee’s photo, under a different name, is selling items on the social network’s Marketplace platform, including what appears to be the same vehicle spotted on Ziaee’s property.

As part of her conditions of release, Ziaee must live in an approved residence, obey a curfew, not have any contact with the co-accused, the two young girls, or anyone under the age of 18, and cannot possess a weapon.

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These four individuals have close ties to the Victoria area and investigators now believe that there may be additional victims here. Our investigators are inviting anyone who may have information about human trafficking involving these four people to come forward. Our officers want victims of human trafficking to know that they will not be judged. They will be listened to. They will be heard.

To report what you know please call our non-emergency line at (250) 995-7654. To report what you know anonymously, please call Greater Victoria Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.

Know it all.Citified.ca is Victoria's most comprehensive research resource for new-build homes and commercial spaces.

Almost two years to the day that Joseph Gauthier was stabbed to death in the middle of the road, family members stood up in court to express the devastating effects his loss has had on them.

Daniel Forrest Creagh, a big man with a short mohawk and a thin chin strap beard, pleaded guilty to one count of manslaughter. Supreme Court Justice Jennifer Power told the courts, prior to the proceedings, that any emotional outbursts would not be tolerated and those in the court were not allowed to touch their phones.

An agreed statement of facts was read out loud by Crown prosecutor Jeni Gillings after the proceedings were delayed for almost an hour as a couple dozen people were herded through a metal detector. Some family members wore hats, embroidered with Gauthier’s name, birth year and year of death.

A sentencing hearing is underway for Daniel Forrest Creagh, who has pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the death of Joseph Gauthier outside a house on Hillside Avenue in March 2018.

Creagh is charged with the second-degree murder of Gauthier. He did initially pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder. On Friday morning, court heard he has pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of manslaughter.

Crown prosecutor Lexi Pace told the court that Galligan breached his probation on the same day he was released from jail after serving time for a sexual assault in the women’s washroom of the Royal British Columbia Museum and a disturbing incident at the McDonald’s on Douglas Street.

In December 2018, Galligan approached a young woman in the women’s washroom at the museum, tried to push her into a stall and groped her. Another woman intervened and he ran off.

Galligan also followed a woman into the washroom at the McDonald’s and propositioned her for sex. Galligan was pushing on a stall door to see if it was locked and not taking no for an answer, said Pace. The woman yelled at him to leave and called police.

Within hours of his release, Galligan was found by a member of the hotel’s housekeeping staff standing topless on a toilet seat with his pants around his ankles. She ordered him to leave.

Galligan was required to report daily to the Assertive Community Treatment team, which helps him. Although Galligan was ordered to live at the Salvation Army, he didn’t and he began using hard drugs, said Pace.

Galligan was warned by the Crown to abide by his conditions, but breaches persisted.

Mitigating factors are Galligan’s Indigenous background and his early guilty pleas, said the prosecutor.

“This is not a trial that anyone wants to attend,” Pace said.

Galligan’s planned, deliberate, practiced actions are aggravating factors, she said. “It’s not impulsive. It’s not a one-off at all.”

Even though he’s under the highest level of supervision in the community, he still visited women’s washrooms at the Empress Hotel three times in a 2 1/2-month period.

Court-ordered reports prepared to assist with sentencing show Galligan has a high risk to reoffend.

The young girl was approached by a man while on a bus around 9:30 p.m. on Feb. 27. Police say the man tried talking to her while on-board and followed her when she got off the bus at the Royal Oak Exchange.

Once outside, he began making sexual advances including unwanted touching, said Det. Sgt. Damian Kowalewich in a written statement.

The suspect is described as a man in his thirties with a “dark complexion” and an accent. He was said to be about five foot seven inches, clean-shaven and wearing skinny jeans. Police are asking anyone with information on the man to contact the Saanich Police Department at 250-475-4321 or the Greater Victoria Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.

On February 1st 2020, the West Shore RCMP frontline officers responded to a report of a vehicle that had collided with a pole near the 3400 block of Happy Valley Road in Langford. When officers arrived on scene the male driver of the vehicle ran from police but left behind two duffle bags containing over 240 grams of fentanyl.

The initial collision investigation quickly turned into a drug trafficking investigation by the West Shore RCMP Crime Reduction Unit in conjunction with the Bike Unit. The Crime Reduction Unit set up surveillance and tracked the male suspect to a basement suite in a residence in the area of Langford Lake Rd and Langford Parkway. On February 22nd , a 26 year old male suspect was arrested. A search of the basement suite uncovered more narcotics including methamphetamine, steroids, a loaded hand gun and thousands of dollars in cash. The investigation is on-going and the suspect remains in custody.

This was a large scale drug trafficking operation. Fentanyl is an extremely dangerous and deadly drug. To put things in perspective, 240 grams of fentanyl would make up approximately 2400 individual doses, said Cpl. Fred Ritchie of the Crime Reduction Unit.

This follows another drug bust made by the West Shore RCMP Drugs and Organized Crime Unit on February 18th, where 4 search warrants were executed in relation to drug trafficking out of an apartment in View Royal. That investigation led to the seizure of cash and a variety of illicit drugs including Methamphetamine, Ketamine, Lysergic Acid Diethylamide (LSD), Cocaine, Xanax, and Psilocybin (Magic Mushrooms). Read more about the latest drug seizure here.

In the month of February alone, the West Shore RCMP have made 3 significant drug seizures. Our specialized units are an invaluable part of this type of work and the detachment is committed to combating drug trafficking in the West Shore, said Inspector Todd Preston, Officer in Charge of West Shore RCMP.
Help keep your community safe by reporting suspicious behaviour to the police.

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In March 2019, Galligan was sentenced to jail, followed by three years of probation, with conditions that prohibited him from entering or lingering around women’s washrooms.

Within hours of his release, Galligan was found by a member of the Empress Hotel’s housekeeping staff standing topless on a toilet seat with his pants around his ankles. She ordered him to leave.

On Sept. 1, another housekeeper walked into the women’s washroom and saw Galligan naked inside the stall. She was frightened, told him to leave and alerted security, but Galligan fled, court heard.

On Oct. 7, a woman using a bathroom stall at the hotel noticed a cellphone screen coming from the stall beside her when she flushed the toilet. Galligan ran off, but was later identified through security cameras at the hotel.

That same evening, a housekeeper found Galligan again in the women’s washroom at the hotel. She told him to leave and that he was banned from the hotel.

On Oct. 10, Galligan was arrested and his cellphone was seized. The police found a compilation of videos showing 58 women in toilet stalls. Court heard that the Oct. 6 video is 46 minutes and 18 seconds in length and Galligan’s face appears on the video 13 times. It’s believed the video clips were recorded between Aug. 26 and Oct. 6.

Victoria, BC – Officers are asking for your help as we work to locate three men wanted in connection to a violent home invasion.

Tighson Laughren, Brandon Doran, and Robert Hawkins are all wanted on multiple charges related to a violent home invasion which took place in the 1000 block of Caledonia Ave on February 14th, 2020.

Laughren is described as a 32-year-old Caucasian man, standing 5 feet, 11 inches tall, and weighing 150 lbs. Laughren has a slim build and short brown hair. Laughren has a tattoo on his neck that reads, “Brianne”.

Doran is described as a 36-year-old non-white man, standing 5 feet, 6 inches tall, and weighing about 140 lbs. Doran has a slim build and a shaved head. Doran has a number of tattoos on his face.

Hawkins is described as a 41-year-old Caucasian man, standing 6 feet, 1 inch tall, and weighing about 210 lbs. Hawkins has an average build and a shaved head. Hawkins has sleeve tattoos on both arms.

Laughren, Doran, and Hawkins are considered armed and dangerous. If you see these men, do not approach them, and please call 911. If you have information about where they may be, please call our non-emergency line at (250) 995-7654. To report what you know anonymously, please call Greater Victoria Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.

Know it all.Citified.ca is Victoria's most comprehensive research resource for new-build homes and commercial spaces.

Victoria, BC – Officers are asking for your help as we work to locate three men wanted in connection to a violent home invasion.

Tighson Laughren, Brandon Doran, and Robert Hawkins are all wanted on multiple charges related to a violent home invasion which took place in the 1000 block of Caledonia Ave on February 14th, 2020.

Laughren is described as a 32-year-old Caucasian man, standing 5 feet, 11 inches tall, and weighing 150 lbs. Laughren has a slim build and short brown hair. Laughren has a tattoo on his neck that reads, “Brianne”.

Doran is described as a 36-year-old non-white man, standing 5 feet, 6 inches tall, and weighing about 140 lbs. Doran has a slim build and a shaved head. Doran has a number of tattoos on his face.

Hawkins is described as a 41-year-old Caucasian man, standing 6 feet, 1 inch tall, and weighing about 210 lbs. Hawkins has an average build and a shaved head. Hawkins has sleeve tattoos on both arms.

Laughren, Doran, and Hawkins are considered armed and dangerous. If you see these men, do not approach them, and please call 911. If you have information about where they may be, please call our non-emergency line at (250) 995-7654. To report what you know anonymously, please call Greater Victoria Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.

Know it all.Citified.ca is Victoria's most comprehensive research resource for new-build homes and commercial spaces.